Messages

421

General Radio Discussion / Re: Over The Top Craziness on 7200 LSB!

« on: September 27, 2016, 0433 UTC »

On the ham forums they talk about several frequencies on 40, a couple on 80, and one in particular on 20 meters where there is a lot of trash talk, QRMing, music playing, etc. going on.

They always ponder over why it's that way, but I just think it's the temper of the times. Internet "dialogue" often turns into little more than spamming and name calling, and the same mindset is drifting over into ham radio.

422

General Radio Discussion / Re: KIFM is building a transmitter in Nevada

« on: September 27, 2016, 0427 UTC »

When I first heard of the fixed frequency radios I thought to myself: 'what happens when the station goes off the air, or changes frequency?'

The radios look like a small transistor with solar panel on the back, and they have a USB, presumably used for programming frequencies, and the radios have nine programmable stations. Looks like a small radio with no dial, just a couple buttons on the front. Probably has a SiLabs chip inside.

It looks like some religious stations in third world countries give them out to their listeners for free so people can listen to their station in areas with marginal or non-existent electric power.

423

General Radio Discussion / Re: KIFM is building a transmitter in Nevada

« on: September 22, 2016, 0306 UTC »

I say power to them, if they can pull it off. HF airwaves are getting more and more vacant by the year. Someone may as well be using them. Nothing else can seem to sustain itself monetarily anymore -- sad but true (pirate stations excerpted, of course).

Looks like these broadcasts will be in Spanish. I've heard of the single channel, solar powered radios. Some missionary organization distributes them in South America.

424

General Radio Discussion / Re: Advocates, Tinkerers Fight for Their 'Right to Repair' Devices

« on: September 22, 2016, 0300 UTC »

I think there's some merit to allowing people to attempt to fix an electronic device. Some devices now are unopenable unless you take a hammer or chisel to it. :-)

425

General Radio Discussion / Re: Getting back to my roots

« on: September 22, 2016, 0259 UTC »

Welcome.

I hear ya on the heat and discontent on some of the forums. One ham forum I check out gets a lot of that between hams.

None of that here.

73

426

General Radio Discussion / Re: Smart electric meters

« on: September 22, 2016, 0257 UTC »

I think I get some RFI from mine, travels maybe 15 feet. Never used to be there.

Possibly some switching power supply garbage from the house next door, though, traveling up the power line.

Never bothered to track it down properly, but I do get a huge amount of hash near the power meter / box, that isn't AC buzz.

427

General Radio Discussion / Re: GPS Under Attack as Crooks, Rogue Workers Wage Electronic War

« on: September 04, 2016, 1542 UTC »

I have never in my life used GPS. There are these antiquated things called Maps and Atlases.

Look at them long enough (i.e. study them) you can get where you want to go even if you don't have it with you. It's not that difficult to navigate.

Heck, they even have them online, if one is too cheap to buy the paper version.

Too many people are letting electronic devices do all their thinking for them.

428

General Radio Discussion / Re: The criminally annoying Russian Woodpecker

« on: September 04, 2016, 1535 UTC »

Around here the blue jays (Steller's Jays, actually -- related species) stay up in the trees and make all sorts of racket. Have never seen one bother a cat, or a person. Never seen them attack other birds, either.

They will swoop down and get peanuts, though.

The scrub jays (another related species, moving up from Oregon) are very shy. They keep to themselves.

I save the BB's / Pellets for the raccoons. They don't bother the cats, but will hang around and eat up the food. I don't like them around.

RE: Russian Woodpecker: I remember that noise on the bands. Makes the Chinese OTH Radar seem very, very tame.

429

General Radio Discussion / Re: Solar activity has a direct impact on Earth’s cloud cover

« on: September 04, 2016, 1528 UTC »

Well, the sun also affects radio reception. It's all interrelated somewhere.

430

General Radio Discussion / Re: 40 m dead carrier curiosity

« on: September 04, 2016, 1524 UTC »

Anytime I see dead carriers or other such anomalous signals I think of RFI. Maybe the house, or nearby houses had a computer running? Maybe a switching power supply to run their cordless telephone? Some of the power supplies put out RFI.

431

General Radio Discussion / Re: Solar physicist sees global cooling ahead (propagation and Sun spots )

« on: September 04, 2016, 1519 UTC »

I'm still on the fence about the real causes of global warming. I don't doubt that CO2 is a contributor. But so is the sun.

There's a scientists' website (pro- manmade global warming) that I read periodically that has convinced me that something is happening and it's related to CO2, but I'm not 100% convinced as of yet. One reason is the fact that in the 900's Greenland was much more habitable and had a Viking colony living there for 400 years. Even with the global warming extant now, Greenland is nowhere as habitable as is was in 900 AD.

There weren't many coal plants or automobiles in 900 AD.

They say the Medieval warming was because of solar activity and less volcanic activity.

https://www.skepticalscience.com/argument.php

Obviously there is something amuck, and it involves CO2. But will it kill us all off? The natural state of the Earth is to be in an Ice Age. Human civilization happened to develop during an interglacial period. If CO2 indeed warms the Earth up, it may counter the Earth's tendency back towards cooling.

How this will all play out?  Probably none of us here will live long enough to see the result.

RE: Original post. Great article. Thanks for posting it.

432

General Radio Discussion / Re: The Shack Is Back

« on: June 03, 2016, 1244 UTC »

I'm glad. The one remaining store in my area is still doing well.

I bought a couple of their pocket radios (AM/FM mono w/ speaker & SiLabs DSP chip inside) there. One to keep in the briefcase, the other one for knocking around the house.

One can DX with them, surprisingly enough. Sound pretty good through headphones.

Pull in fringe FM stations better then some of my other portables.

433

General Radio Discussion / Re: WRMI move from 6915 to 6855 due to complaints from MARS

« on: May 17, 2016, 0140 UTC »

The past few mornings and early afternoons the only stations I've heard on the 21 meter and 19 meter SW bands was 1) Brother Stair, and 2) RHC in Spanish or French and Brother Stair.

Nothing else.

So, yes, I'd think Brother Stair is one of the major forces in SW broadcasting, no matter what we may think of the content...

434

General Radio Discussion / Re: AIR-India to shut down short wave service

« on: May 17, 2016, 0135 UTC »

Pretty sad if it happens. Second largest country in the world, with a lot of SW receivers...

One of my coolest SW listening memories was hearing the AIR outlet in Madras, broadcasting to the Indian Ocean and E Africa, coming in on my DX440 very well that morning... it was this incredibly cool sounding recording of children chanting and stomping their feet, very tribal sounding.

The combination of the propagation, excellent reception, and the hi fi quality of the signal coming through the headphones of the DX440 made it a very memorable listening experience -- it was almost like being there. Probably sometimes 2003 or so.

435

Equipment / Re: What radio should a beginner get for shortwave listening (Under 90 USD)

« on: May 17, 2016, 0128 UTC »

Glad to hear you're enjoying the G3.

I have a G2 which works terrific on SW and FM off the whip. MW needs an external loop, though... Impressed with the Grundig overall, though.